The following is a detailed analysis of the current Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools union
contract that covers teachers as well as a few other employee groups. The district
employs about 1,080 teachers and enrolls 18,900 students. Of its $147
million operating budget, about 67
percent goes toward paying employees working under this contract.

Stay Engaged

Receive our weekly emails!

email address

Salary Schedule

Base salaries are determined strictly by
“steps,” which use a matrix of years experience and graduate credit hours and
degrees.

There of 11 “steps” on the schedule, meaning
teachers get automatic 5 to 9 percent pay raises for their first 10 years in
the district.

80 percent of teachers have graduate degrees and
70 percent have more than 5 years experience, meaning the vast majority of
teachers’ base salary is between $60,607 and $79,473.

The Michigan Department of Education reported
the average teacher salary in Plymouth-Canton in 2008-09 was $66,644.

Teachers also get “longevity” payments as
follows:

o
16th – 20th year: $300 annually.

o
21st – 25th year: $550 annually.

o
26th – 30rd year: $800 annually.

o
31st year and more: $1,000 annually.

Fringe Benefits

The district pays 100 percent of the health
insurance costs of teachers. .

In the private sector in Michigan in 2009, employees
paid 21
percent ($2,800) of the costs of a family health insurance plan on average.

The district’s plan
includes no in-network annual deductibles, $15-$30 co-pays and a $10/$20 RX
plan.

Out of network co-pay annually is $100/$200.

The district also provides at no cost to
teachers dental, vision, life ($40,000) and long-term disability ($4,500)
insurance.